Long Term Report

Long Term Report of
Outdoor Research #4 HydroLite Stuff Sack
By Michael Jay Lissner
12 July 2004

Contents of Review:
1. Tester Biographical Information
2. Backpacking Background
3. Product Information
4. Product Description
5. Description of Tests
6. Comments
7. Conclusions

1. Tester Biographical Information:
Name: Michael Jay Lissner
Age: 22
Gender: Male
Height: 201 cm (6' 7")
Weight: 88 kg (195 lb)
Email Address: yourmothership at hotmail dot com
City of Current Residence: Berkeley, California

2. Backpacking Background:
I have been backpacking for the greater part of my life. I started with heavy weight packing with the Boy Scouts, but my current style is a highly minimalist one relying on more skill and discomfort and less on creature comforts and toys. Although my backpacking style is an evolving thing, at this point I usually clock in 27.4 k (17 mile) days with a base weight (without food or water) of about 5.4 kg (12 lbs), including my tarp, frameless pack and down quilt. My usual stomping grounds are any of the terrain within three hours from here.

3. Product Information:
Manufacturer: Outdoor Research
Manufacturer's URL: http://www.outdoorresearch.com
Product Name: HydroLite Stuff Sack
Year of Manufacture: 2003
Size Tested: Number 4
Suggested Retail Price: $13.00 (USD)
Advertised Weight: Not Given
Measured Weight: 46 g (1.62 oz)
Advertised Dimensions: 23 x 43 cm (9 x 17 in)
Measured Dimensions: 23.2 x 48.6 cm (9 1/8 x 19 1/8 in)
Advertised Volume: 18.0 L (1100 cu in)
Measured Volume: 19.3 L (1180 cu in)*
Color Tested: Inside: White, Outside: Red
*The volume was measured by filling the sack with packaging peanuts (without adding pressure) until it could no longer close with the dust flap in place, and then dumping out the peanuts into a square box. By then measuring the inside dimensions of the box (length and width), and the height of the peanuts inside it, I could determine the volume of the peanuts in the box, and hence the approximate volume of the sack.

4. Product Description:
As mentioned in much greater detail in my Initial Report, this is an ultralight stuff sack made out of 100% urethane coated nylon.

5. Description of Tests:
During the last four months, I have continued taking this stuff sack with me on all of my backpacking journeys. On all of these trips, I have used it as a food sack, generally holding somewhere between .5-3 kg (1-7 lbs) of food contained in plastic bags. Most of these trips lasted for about three nights, but a couple of them lasted four. These trips varied in temperature from a nighttime low of about -7 C (20 F) to a high of 43 C (110 F), and in elevation from a low of sea level to a high of about 3,050 m (10,000 ft). The geography for these areas included coastal, mountain and desert terrain.

6. Comments:
After having used this bag for the last six months, I have come to have more respect for it than I had originally. When I first got it, I was pretty sure that it would not last until the end of the testing period without one of the seams breaking open or the grab handle ripping off. Since neither of these things has happened, I am happy with it. However, my speculations from the get go were not entirely unfounded, and the bag has suffered some damage during testing.

As mentioned in great detail in my Field Report, the seams in this bag were visibly weakly constructed. While they did not get worse once I stopped using it as a stuff sack for my clothes, one can quite easily see the damaged areas. The bar tacks that hold the grab handle on have also suffered some damage. At this point, one of the bar tacks is coming unraveled for a few stitches, and both of them have slightly enlarged needle holes. Other than that though, the bag is holding up pretty well. There was some fraying on the dust flap due to the fact that it is not hemmed, but that occurred after the first use, and hasn't gotten any worse.

The only other gripe that I continue to have is that the bag's size is too big for anything that I would want to put in it. Even now, after having used it for six months, I still have not managed to fill up the bag at any time. The few times I have filled it even halfway up, it has been too big to put in my pack without kind of juggling the items inside it to make it fit in more narrow spaces.

7. Conclusions:
To be frank, at this point, I have used this stuff sack for six months, and I am happy to no longer be obligated to do so. While the material that it is made from has held up well, its large size, permeability to water and seam fragility have made me less than enthusiastic about using it on a regular basis.

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